Your Level Of Excellence

What is your level of excellence, and what is your center’s? Are you an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE), a double ACE, a triple ACE, or striving toward ACE? What exactly does this mean to you and what level of usage are you getting out of the protocols?

Some centers use them begrudgingly because they must, with some of these centers doing the bare minimum while others continue to chug along. Some choose to aspire higher. When you do the bare minimum because you don’t like the protocols or don’t have faith in them, you are not only putting yourself at risk, but you are not taking advantage of the benefits they provide in your role as an Emergency Dispatcher.

We’ll start by exploring the benefits of protocols. Most importantly, protocols establish a legally recognized standard of care. This means that regardless of who is calling, the nature of the emergency, or which Emergency Dispatcher answers the call, every caller receives consistent, protocol-driven triage and processing that aligns with that standard. When followed correctly, protocols not only ensure uniform, high-quality care, but also provide strong legal protection—demonstrating that actions taken met the accepted standard and reducing exposure to liability.

Once you’re using the protocols, the next step is implementing a quality assurance program. Quality assurance is that feedback you didn’t know you needed until someone tells you what you’re doing well and what could use a little work. Quality assurance prevents you from existing in a vacuum thinking that no one cares what you do. You receive feedback telling you that not only are you doing a good job, but you are highly compliant in using the protocols. Go you! If there’s something to fix or tweak, you know what to fix so you’re not making the same mistake repeatedly and can go from compliant to high compliance.

If you strive for high compliance, things start to fall into place. We want high compliance from our trainees who are learning the job. We want protocols to become muscle memory because it provides stability and routine in call processing. Many people need stability to function, especially in a job where things change routinely.

Have you listened to some of the high-acuity incidents handled with protocol versus those handled without protocol? The difference can be unsettling. You can hear the person winging it without protocol and contrast that against someone following protocol. You can hear voice inflection and a higher level of professionalism when using the protocol, and if you are being honest, the call sounds much better when the media plays it back.

After a quality assurance program is established and maintained and the center becomes highly compliant, accreditation becomes achievable. Accredited Centers of Excellence have a high standard and are often the leaders in our industry. Put plainly, ACEs have their stuff together. They must be in order to meet re-accreditation standards.

Some centers using more than one protocol (EMD, EFD, EPD, ECNS) go higher and reach for double and triple accreditation. These centers raise their people to levels of excellence through their quality assurance and accreditation. Then there’s the pride in knowing you do a good job.

Our center (Harford County Department of Emergency Services, Maryland) has been tri-accredited since 2018. We were second in the world and first in the United States to achieve this. That’s a bragging right. We’ve held onto our accreditation since then, and our little center in the mid-Atlantic region has been visited by representatives from centers in multiple countries. Our people have high expectations and high standards for themselves and each other. We offer suggestions for process improvement; we serve on committees. Is it because of our tri-accreditation? Partly. The biggest part is our 24/7/365 commitment to excellence.

Was it easy to get there? No. People resisted the protocols. People knew better than the protocols, and the protocols are works in progress. They are not static, and neither are your people. First, you must conquer the resistance to change and then satisfy the “what’s in it for me” mentality. High compliance means you sent the right help at the right time with good customer service. Protocol usage can give you direction and increase your comfort level with doing your job. Repeated high compliance gives you confidence.

Callers are looking for direction; someone told me recently that Emergency Dispatchers are the bridge between the emergency and getting help to the emergency. I’ll take that a step further and say that a good, solid bridge stands strong during times of crisis.